Literacy tip: Object permanence is that idea that something is there, even when we can’t see it. This takes a long time to develop in babies, but playing peek-a-boo games can be important for encouraging the concept.

Little Mouse, Little Mouse flannel game

I let baby hold the pieces as I took them off for an extra sensory touch.

Where’s Spot? big book by Eric Hill (lift-the-flap)

Baby loved this book and did a great job of watching the pages. Since it was just one mom and baby pair with me today, I scooted up and let baby touch the flaps.

I directed mom to my pile of baby-friendly books and told her it was time to read one-on-one. She really liked this and baby did, too. I ordered some special copies of Eric Carle books that came with sound buttons. These were a big hit. While mom read, I tidied up and just looked through the books myself.

My version of the elevator song, which goes like this:

Oh storytime is great, yes storytime is grand

where we all read together when I give you a hand

There are books up high, but our car is down low

So this is what we do when we’re on the go

Take the elevator up, take the elevator down

Take the elevator up, take the elevator down

Take the elevator up, take the elevator down

And we turn around

I tried this once by having mom wave a scarf up and down over baby’s head, but we wound up liking it as a lifting song more.

I ended by asking mom if she thought it was a good length and if the activities were fun. She said she was pretty happy with it and I got lots and lots of smiles from baby. I let them stay and play with my props and just said that I would be at my desk if she wanted to ask me anything. I saw them read another book from my pile and then they left.

All in all, I got a pretty good feeling from this one.

As a side note: As I was cleaning up after the program, a lady who was tutoring nearby asked me all kinds of questions. “Were you ever a daycare teacher?” Nope. “Why not?” Well, I love libraries and I like the variety of my work here. Plus I get paid a lot more. I have a master’s degree and I’ve put a lot of time and research into my early literacy programs. It’s sort of a specialty for me. “Oh, I thought you were just a librarian.” Yes, I am. Almost all modern librarians have a master’s. “Can they all do this?” Honestly, probably not. We all have different specialties and it’s a very diverse field. Some of my colleagues are much better at computer instruction, for example. “Do you have children?” I don’t. “Do you want them?” I don’t know. “Really? That seems unusual for someone who loves kids.” I don’t think it’s as unusual as you may think. I think it’s just unusual to say so. I love kids, but I don’t know if parenting is right for me. “Interesting. Thanks for answering my questions.” Anytime!